Primavera at 25: MCA Collection

Primavera is the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia’s annual exhibition dedicated to showcasing the work of young Australian artists.

Primavera at 25: MCA Collection celebrated twenty-five years of the Primavera exhibition (1992 - 2017). Taking this significant milestone as a departure point, Primavera at 25 brought together works from the MCA Collection by 19 artists and artist groups, who had previously exhibited in Primavera, that explored ideas of transformation, time and history.

Some artworks – by Nell, Rebecca Baumann, Gemma Smith and Ross Manning – appeared to transform in front of our eyes, shape shifting to create new forms.

Time was explored by Tim Silver and Emma White in works that record time, mark set intervals or deliberately age; whilst Sangeeta Sandrasegar drew upon personal and shared memories.

Danie Mellor, Pedro Wonaeamirri and Constanze Zikos considered our relationship to the past by their use of classical motifs and forms, reflected on our cultural histories or reinterpreted traditional designs using contemporary materials. The collective known as Barbara Cleveland performed historic works which reinterpreted them for contemporary audiences.

Primavera was initiated in 1992 by Dr Edward Jackson AM and Mrs Cynthia Jackson AM and their family in memory of their family member Belinda, a talented jeweller who died at the age of 29.

Primavera at 25 was organised and toured by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. This project was assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.